So very thankful....

Thankful. That is what I am - so very thankful lately. I am so blessed and I think half the time I'm so busy worrying about this and that and I just forget to step back and realize just how wonderful my life really is. I have amazingly adorable, sweet and beautiful (not to mention healthy) children, a great husband, THE BEST friends and neighbors, a beautiful home and, in this economy, a job ; ) Life has been so busy lately and just yesterday I decided I really should "slow it down a bit" and simplify. I really want to, it's just hard to not "over commit" but I am going to work on it. I really am.

My Jessica came in this morning while we were running around like mad people to get out of the house and get my little man to the bus stop on time. She does this a lot in the morning - while Sarah's still in a deep slumber. She walks in, with her cute little pj's and her major "bed head" and she's so sweet and soft spoken and she's holding the same little trinket she went to bed with (it was a baby My Little Pony with a little high chair and dish of food that Daddy bought her at Target on Sunday) and she walks up with her beautiful face and quietly says "good morning mommy."

I love how my Sarah calls Sleeping Beauty "sleeping cutie" and how she calls Lightning McQueen "Drama Queen" and how she asks you to "scoov over" on the couch. I love how my Justin wants to show me stuff he learns and accomplishes, how he wants to call out the latest math problem he can solve, how he tells me he's looking forward to "versing" the Lugnuts in T-ball. Or how he notices that I have made his lunch "over a hundred times."

These are truly the moments that I live for, just to see those beautiful faces greet me and how they make me smile. I love that they are always happy to see me, well most of the time... lol. I hope everyone is having a lovely Spring. I hope to have more time to get here more often to share my thoughts going forward.

Leaving the house this morning....

Innocently enough I reached into the pocket of my old black wool coat, which apparently I haven't worn in quite a while. I know this now because when I reached into that pocket, I pulled out the itinerary for my e-ticket when I flew to Auntie Dianne's funeral just about two years ago. It was January 11th when I boarded that plane at Dulles - for what was a really long, teary flight for me. So many memories flooding back to me, so many memories still to be made that I was mourning.
I can't believe it's been two years since she's been gone. I will never forget getting the phone call at work that day - it was cousin Scott delivering the bad news. It's not like we didn't know it was coming - it's just the shock of the finality of it all I think that stings the most. I was fortunate to have two very dear friends with me at work that afternoon, Karen and Rick, who comforted me. Thank you both. I will never forget that.
I miss you Auntie Dianne. We all do - but I know you're in God's hands and I know I'll see you again someday. xxxooo

I hate cancer....

It's hard to believe that this time two years ago was the last time I spoke with Auntie Dianne... I remember that last conversation like it was yesterday. I remember feeling helpless, and her upbeat attitude about battling that damn cancer. Sadly we lost her a few short weeks later. Her funeral was a very very cold day and I remember seeing that box of ashes at the gravesite and wanting to grab it and hug it, kiss it, say goodbye one last time to one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

And now it's like deja vu all over again. Uncle Jim's in the hospital. The cancer has spread to his lungs now. It's not sounding good - I'm really really sad. I hate cancer. I hate hate hate it for taking away people that I love. I am hoping for an update from Dad later but it sounded like he may not be going home for the holidays.... they may be moving him to hospice care but they want to keep him in the hospital. Dad said he should know more after Dede "negotiates" with the folks at the hospital. Uncle Jim I am praying for you. We all love you... and miss you.

The world tour of bathrooms....

It's official - my girlies are growing up :(

Thanks to Dum-Dum pops and all Barbara Jean's hard work - the girls are basically daytime potty trained, at least for number one... lol

We've now entered a period that I like to refer to as "the world tour of bathrooms." I remember this from Justin - like it was yesterday. This is a little period we go through where almost everywhere we go, we suddenly have to go "potty." Only we really don't - we just act like we do so we can go scope out the bathroom. I feel like a jerk complaining - we're on the tail end of diapers and I could not be happier. I'm sure our trash man can't wait to stop picking up stinky diapers times two :)

NICE job girls!!! Now we just need to work on the number two's... baby steps.

I hope everyone has a great week.

THIS is the good stuff....

When I say this is the good stuff, I mean this is the good stuff that makes parenting really rewarding. Stuff like seeing your kids put their halloween costumes on for the first time - and seeing the wonder in their eyes. Hearing them ask if they can wear them everyday ... lol (that's Jess and Sarah!). The kids were freakin' adorable in their costumes - Justin makes a very handsome Vader if I do say so myself :)

Justin was the top sales kiddo at his school for the Sally Foster fundraiser!!! Thanks to our friends and neighbors who made generous purchases and made this possible. He wins a $100 legos.com gift card and we also won the drawing for a $100 Target gift card! I am so proud of him... now we need to get the stuff delivered. I think on Monday since there is no school Barbara Jean is going to bring him up to work so he can deliver to all Mommy's coworkers who were kind enough to buy from him. It should be fun - they all love dropping by work so they can get something from the vending machines, priorities!

Friday's Justin's school "fall" party (too PC for my taste - but that's another post) - I'm one of the planners so will be off that afternoon to help and Jean's planning on bringing the twins up for the party as well. It should be fun. Then we have Jaime and Darrell and their kids coming over Friday night to trick or treat around our cul-de-sac, and then around Cheltenham then we're heading over to Merrywood for some more trick or treating. I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween!

Fall is in full swing!

Wow, it's been a while! Bad mommy - well let's say busy mommy...

So Fall is definitely in full swing in our house - homework, playdates, gearing up for Halloween and our 2nd annual Spooktacular. Speaking of Halloween, Justin's going as Darth Vader this year. Jessica is a ladybug and Sarah's "da punkin" - the girls stole Tinker and Little Sam's costume ideas this year... lol. When we were across the street last month selling Sally Foster Susan tried their costumes on and when we left they both declared they were ripping off the dogs' ideas for costumes this year. Too cute - we're hoping to do some Trick or Treating with Tinker and Little Sam around the cul de sac this year :)

Let's see what else is new...

*The girls are doing great with their potty training. I'm so proud of them! They even did great for Miss Is while Barbara Jean was away on vacation last week. Yay girlies!

*Justin's gearing up for his second karate tournament which will be on Sunday November 9th. He is very excited!

*I am counting down to the big 4-0! We have a fabulous NYC weekend planned. The Wallaces are flying up from Richmond and Clare and Joe are going to drive up with us - can't wait to eat, shop, drink, repeat! We've not been away from the kids for more than a night since the twins were born so we're OVERDUE!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Fall :)

A moment that changed history - remembering 9/11

There are a handful of times every person's life that they shall never forget. For most of us, 9/11/2001 was one of those horrible days that you actually wish you could forget, or wake up from as if it was all a bad dream.

So where were you on 9/11/2001? For me it was what seemed like an ordinary morning - I left my house and drove into work. Me and a handful of other sales people were in the office early - and were shooting the breeze, checking our emails - doing what we always do. Then all the sudden my friend Robb got a call from his brother in Boston. He worked for a large Wall Street firm - and they'd gotten a call from a colleague in NY that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. So of course we all opened a browser and started combing CNN, The Washington Post, Fox News - anything we could find. Then the floodgates open - the news was everywhere. That a plane had in fact hit one of the towers. The rest of the morning kinda bleeds together but I do remember that we all stopped working and gathered in a conference room to watch the horrible news unfold on TV - and started making phone calls to loved ones.

One thing that really stands out in my mind was my drive home... we lived very close to Dulles airport and I lived close to my office. At any given time there were airplanes flying over us because we lived along the flight paths to Dulles. Well during this ride home I just remember being scared - because although planes had been grounded, there were still many planes that had not be accounted for and I was very paranoid, often looking out the window while I listened to the local news radio station on the edge of my seat anticipating what was going to happen next.

The rest of those days to follow are kind of a blur as well - what I remember most is spending hour upon hour in front of the television, wanting to know more about what had happened and why. On 9/11/2001 I was pregnant with Justin but I did not know it yet. The following week we went to the Outer Banks with friends and when I got home I did a pregnancy test which confirmed I did in fact have a little bun in the oven. The timing could not have been better, after what happened on that day, 9/11, my perspective on life changed dramatically. Priorities shifted - and things changed. I was both thankful to have this baby coming into the world, but also very afraid as the world seemed to hang in a fragile state in my mind those days following the attacks.

One thing I am not looking forward to is answering questions from my children about 9/11 and about terrorism. I wish I could someday look my children in the eye and truthfully tell them that there are not people in the world who hate Americans and our way of life, that there are not people who want to hurt us, even kill us. It brings a tear to my eye to even have to think about having those conversations.

The families and friends of all the victims of the 9/11 tragedies remain in my prayers. God bless America and those who protect us - I for one am very grateful.